T20 World Cup 2021: T20 World Cup 2021: Format, Number of teams, Qualifiers, Rules – Explained – After a long five-year gap, ICC T20 World Cup will make a comeback in October in the UAE. The 7th edition of the mega T20 event will feature 16 teams in the main round with a final round of 12 teams divided into two groups of six each. The tournament starts on October 17 in Oman with a qualifying round while the final round takes place in the UAE from October 23. Virat Kohli’s Team India will begin their campaign against Babar Azam-led Pakistan on October 24 while defending champions West Indies will lock horns with England on October 23.
T20 World Cup 2021: First round: Apart from Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, the other six teams made it to the First Round based on their performance in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup qualifiers 2019. The bottom-ranked teams including Bangladesh and Sri Lanka will begin their campaign in the First round in Oman.
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The first round comprises 8 teams that are divided into two groups of four each. Sri Lanka are in Group A while Bangladesh are in Group B. Each team will play three matches each in the group. Four teams will qualify from the two groups and will join the Top 8 nations in the main round.
First Round Group A: Sri Lanka, Ireland, Netherlands, Namibia
Group B: Bangladesh, Scotland, Oman, Papua New Guinea
T20 World Cup 2021: First Round Schedule:
October 17: Oman vs Papua New Guinea (3:30 PM IST); Bangladesh vs Scotland (7:30 PM IST)
October 18: Ireland vs Netherlands (3:30 PM IST); Sri Lanka vs Namibia (7:30 PM IST)
October 19: Scotland vs Papua New Guinea (3:30 PM IST); Bangladesh vs Oman (7:30 PM IST)
October 20: Namibia vs Netherlands (3:30 PM IST); Sri Lanka vs Ireland (7:30 PM IST)
October 21: Bangladesh vs Papua New Guinea (3:30 PM IST); Oman vs Scotland (7:30 PM IST)
October 22: Namibia vs Ireland (3:30 PM IST); Sri Lanka vs Netherlands (7:30 PM IST)
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T20 World Cup 2021: The main round will comprise 12 teams and will be called Super 12 with 6 teams divided into two groups. The teams have qualified based on their ICC T20I rankings as of March 20, 2021. It will also include four teams from the qualifying round.
Teams already qualified for Super 12 (based on ICC T20I rankings): West Indies, India, Pakistan, Australia, England, New Zealand, South Africa, Afghanistan
Super 12: Group 1: England, Australia, South Africa, West Indies, Winner Group A, Runner-up Group B
Group 2: India, Pakistan, New Zealand, Afghanistan, Winner Group B, Runner-up Group A
Super 12 Format: Six teams in each group will play in a round-robin format with the top two teams qualifying for the semifinals from each group. Each team will play five matches Group before moving to the semifinals.
Total number of matches in Super 12: 30
Semifinals: A1 vs B2; B1 vs A2.
T20 World Cup 2021 Rules and guidelines:
- All teams will have 15-member squads.
- All teams can bring additional players due to the COVID-19 pandemic but ICC will not bear their costs.
- All teams have to announce their final squad by September 10.
- For the first time, T20 World Cup will have concussion substitution. If a player has suffered a concussion, he can be replaced with a like-for-like player.
- If the ball goes to stands, it will be replaced instead of just sanitized.
- Both semifinals and finals will have a reserve day each.
- Tiebreaker: For the first time, if a match is tied in super over, continuous super overs will be played until there is a result.
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